


duly noted

by umiwomitai



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, M/M, Secret Admirer, side jaehyun/ten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 03:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22425115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umiwomitai/pseuds/umiwomitai
Summary: Doyoung wasn't really planning on acting on his crush for Johnny Suh, but it turns out that his mom friend instincts are stronger than he thought.Or, Doyoung finds out Johnny never eats breakfast and decides he must change this.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 30
Kudos: 332
Collections: Johnny Fic Fest: Round One





	duly noted

**Author's Note:**

> This is my participation for the Johnny fic fest! I wrote the prompt #JS225, hopefully I did it properly. If the prompter ever reads this, first of all thank you for prompting this lovely idea, and second, I sincerely hope you will like it despite me changing it a bit. 
> 
> prompt: person b always leaves a small box of milk with a cute note on his desk, hoping he’ll have a good day and like the little gift. little did he know, johnny is actually lactose intolerant.

“Why are we even here?”

Ten is still looking at his phone, asking a question he knows Doyoung won’t answer. 

It’s Monday morning, an hour before any class starts, and yet Ten is already up and ready on his way to school. He didn’t even know buses are running this early. Needless to say, he’s still half asleep and wishes Doyoung wouldn’t drag him out of bed for his personal business. 

“I told you, I need to do something.”

“Yeah, which brings me to the second question: why am _I_ here?”

“For moral support,” Doyoung mumbles, biting on yet another nail out of stress. Ten grabs his hand, annoyed at his habits. 

“Stop that, it’s disgusting.” 

Doyoung ends up looking at him, at first to try and get him to release his hand, but he quickly decides there’s no point. His friend already agreed to sacrifice his precious hours of sleep to go to school earlier for something he didn’t even know, he really shouldn’t be asking for more.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise, just tell me what we’re going to do,” Ten demands as they get off the bus. He jumps over a puddle, frowning at his wet sneakers. He should have worn another pair of shoes. 

“Ugh. It’s nothing.”

The light turns to red in front of them, and Ten pulls on Doyoung’s backpack handle. He steps into yet another puddle. 

“Oh really? Or do you want to avoid telling me?”

Doyoung looks at him sheepishly, biting on his lips. He’s unbearable. 

“Come on, it’s not like I’ll judge you Doyo. I told you all the embarrassing things I did for Jaehyun, right?”

“Right. Right.”

Doyoung seems more at ease, walking with more assurance, but he still doesn’t say a word. He leads them through the hallways, apparently having memorised which doors are already open and which aren’t. Ten isn’t weirded out anymore, though it’s quite impressive how Doyoung always seems to know what to do while still being stressed out most of the time. His phone rings, a text has arrived, and Doyoung frowns at him. Ten shrugs, answering the text with a smile on his lips. When he looks up, Doyoung has stopped in front of a locker which, obviously, isn’t his. Yet, Ten knows whose locker it is.

“What crazy thing do you want to give to Johnny that you have to do it like this?”

Doyoung stops immediately, hands just in front of the locker. It’s almost funny to see him petrified. 

“It’s… it’s not crazy.”

“Why not just give it to him face to face then?”

Ten has to hold his laughter in when his friend turns to him, but it’s worth the sight. His face is entirely red while he’s still frowning, face contorted by whatever word describes best the mix between embarrassment and anger. Mortified, or exasperated maybe. Whatever the word, it is hilarious. 

“I can’t _just_ do that, are you dumb or what?”

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much.” Ten takes his breakfast (a banana and a jam sandwich) from his backpack and starts eating. He hasn’t even had time to eat something, Doyoung rushing him to get to school as fast as possible. “So?”

“He… I heard him say that he doesn’t take the time to eat breakfast, so I wanted to make sure he’d eat something before morning training.”

“Wow. You’re so thoughtful, Doyoung.”

“Shut up,” Doyoung mumbles, opening the locker to put a little lunch box in it. Ten notices the sticky note on it, but deems he has annoyed his friend enough and doesn’t mention it. At least for now. “Here, we can leave now.”

“What, that’s it?” Ten starts complaining even though he follows him to their classroom. 

“Yes that’s it.” 

They leave the gymnasium in silence, cutting short across the football field to reach the main building. The wind is blowing in their hair, and Doyoung shoves his hands in his pockets. He’s only wearing the light jacket Ten bought him for his latest birthday. He doesn’t say it often, but Ten knows he loves it a lot. At least enough to wear it even when he should put on something thicker. Doyoung has his simple secret way of showing he cares without even meaning to; wearing this jacket, making enough coffee for everyone at home, giving his notes to classmates who were sick and missed lessons. 

Or secretly leaving breakfast in Johnny’s locker to make sure he eats properly. 

“You really don’t plan on telling him?”

“No. Not yet, at least,” Doyoung ads after a moment, during which he looks lost in his thoughts. He puts his bag down on his desk, pulling out his notebook. “So don’t mention it at all until I actually tell him, alright?”

“When?”

“Ten.” 

Which is synonym for “If you dare say one more word about this, I’ll bring back all the receipts I have on you trying to flirt with Jaehyun and you’re not going to like it”. Hence Ten stops talking and sits down on his seat, fingers stuck to his phone as he waits for an answer. 

“Do you have your maths book?”

“Ugh, yeah, wait.” 

Ten retrieves the textbook from his table and hands it to Doyoung. He looks so serious, so stern, he just can’t help it. 

“And tell me, how do you know Johnny’s locker code exactly?”

* * *

  
  


“Alright boys, that’s all for this morning, now go take a shower and go to class.”

The whole team leaves the court to head to the changing rooms, all cheerful talks and loud screams. It’s the middle of November, and the season will start soon. Johnny isn’t too worried. Actually, he really loves the buzzing of all the excitation that comes with full time training. He gets back in his routine like he never put it aside. 

Except that this morning, when he opens his locker to take his bag and leave for classes without taking a shower, there’s something new. Something odd. Something out of a place. Here on top of the upper shelf, just above his old pair of shoes, he finds a lunch box that he knows he didn’t put there. He takes it, looking at it like a kid looks at a present that wasn’t supposed to be under the Christmas tree, barely resisting the urge to shake it like a mad man. He turns to his teammates, showing the box. 

“Hey, has any of you put that in my locker?”

“No. Isn’t it yours?”

“I wouldn’t ask if it was mine.”

His teammate looks sheepish for a second, realising how dumb his statement is, before leaving for the showers. It’s then that Johnny notices the little note on the lid. 

_“Make sure to eat before training!”_

Inside the box, there’s an apple, a sandwich and a cartoon of strawberry milk. Johnny thinks it’s one of the most adorable thing that’s ever been done for him, so he just shrugs and takes the apple in his mouth, leaving with his bag on the shoulder and the box in his hands. Taeil is waiting for him in front of the main building doors, a stack of books in his hands.

“I was sent to get those so I figured I’d just wait for you and make you take the other ones,” he explains, head turning to another stack that he left inside the hall. 

Johnny snorts, putting his lunch box down on top of the books before lifting the stack and following Taeil through the hallways. Taeil almost always finds an excuse to be out the door waiting for him in the morning, even if he misses precious minutes of class. It was part of their routine in middle school, Taeil waiting for him after training and then going to class together. Now it’s less convenient since training sessions are longer and end after classes have started, but Taeil is smart and appreciated by teachers. He has his ways. 

Johnny looks at the box as they walk, thoughts fixed on who could have possibly put this in his locker without anyone from the team noticing it. They step inside the classroom, putting the books on the teacher’s desk. Johnny walks to his sit, putting down his bags, and looks at the box some more. Next to him, Jaehyun gives him a puzzled look, so he takes the milk carton.

“Want the milk?”

* * *

The first time it happened, Johnny thought it’d just be a one time thing. 

Yet every morning after training, without fail, he finds the same lunch box in his locker, and he eats whatever is inside. No one really questions it, as surprising as it is. Jaehyun tries to look for the mysterious lunch-giver but he stops after a few days, claiming that if he hasn’t found out yet, he doesn’t really want to know anymore. 

“There’s no thrill in finding out anymore”, he said when Johnny asked, shrugging. 

Johnny is sure, deep inside, that it has something to do with Ten, because Ten easily persuades Jaehyun to do about anything he wants, and Ten just seems to knows everything, about anyone, all the time. Which is why he was the first person he asked to - in vain. 

The most irritating thing about Ten (the only one, according to Jaehyun, but his opinion doesn’t matter much) is that he only ever does what he wants, and what he wants merely coincides with what the rest of the world wants. At first, Johnny assumed that he had a very one-sided way of doing things, but it just appears that he’s very good at pretending that things he does for others have an interest for him too. 

Nonetheless, he has refused to say anything about his mystery breakfast delivery person and only ever looks at him with a smile barely concealing his laughter. Johnny is too used to it, doesn’t care enough, and he goes to sit next to him at every lunch ignoring his knowing looks. 

Johnny thinks, what he loves the most is the notes that come along with the lunch. It’s stupid and mindless but meant for him, to cheer him up and make him start his day on a happy note, and it’s working - Johnny smiles at it every single time. And it’s odd, being so thankful for someone he doesn’t know, for something so mindless and little. 

But it makes his days. He gets to eat, which he loves, and he gets lovely little cheering up words, which he collects and reads when he needs it, and he gets jealous stares from his teammates, which is always funny. 

And without really knowing why, he wants to know who it is. 

“Just _please_ , for once, do something for me.”

“For _once?”_ Kun snarls, looking at him from the other side of the table, pen still writing on his notebook. 

“Poor choice of words.”

“Indeed, Suh Johnny. As far as I’m aware, you’re the one who owes me one.”

“Ok, yeah, I know,” Johnny gives in, remembering how he still has to buy Kun a meal from the one time he got him out of trouble last year. “But I really need help with something and I think you could help.” 

Kun sighs, deeply. His friend doesn’t really meddle with his business anymore, not since he became the drama club president, but he also can’t resist helping his friend even when he’s super busy. Johnny knows this, and feels a bit bad for taking advantage of him like this, especially since he’s obviously studying, but he will make up for it. 

“Take me out for another meal and I’ll do it.”

Johnny gets up from his chair and grabs Kun’s head in both his hands, kissing his forehead and laughing a little. His friend groans but doesn’t push him back, smiles a bit instead. When he sits down again, Johnny takes a metal box from his bag and opens it, retrieving the notes he’s been collecting. He places them on the table in front of Kun, showing him everything in detail. 

“Do you think you know this writing?”

“Johnny, first of all, what the fuck is this? Second of all,” he sighs, putting his glasses down to rub his eyes, “how do you expect me to recognise this?”

“I was hoping that you’d know since you were the Class B president last year. That’s the best lead I have,” he complains, laying his head on his arms sprawled on the table. 

“Oh boy. You’re really curious, aren’t you?”

“Well, who wouldn’t be?” 

Kun shrugs. He has to say that he would have tried to find out too, he’s just surprised that Johnny is the type to hold on to little things like this too. 

“Have you tried Taeil?”

Johnny groans, face softly hitting the table twice. 

“Of _course_ I have. But he didn’t help much and laughs at me every time I talk about it.” 

“Sounds like him,” Kun says with some comfort. 

They stay in silence for a moment, Johnny in his despair and Kun carefully rewriting his notes. Johnny is almost ready to beg at this point, and thinks that even going back to Ten and try to get him to say something, anything, could be more helpful, but he’s not very willing to give up on his dignity just yet. 

His phone lights up next to him, but he ignores it. He looks at all the little sticky notes, not so sticky anymore, trying to find some clues in the words scattered across the paper. But there’s nothing, just nothing more than words, and he’s this close to hitting his face on the table out of frustration again when Kun speaks up.

“Have you tried asking people around?”

“Yes. And it’s awful, because first, it’s no one in my class, and second, whenever I ask everyone looks at me like they know something I don’t, and it’s fucking annoying.” 

“Well. They probably do know something you don’t.”

“Yeah, that’s why I hate it,” Johnny complains, fingers playing with one of the notes. “It’s just… I wish I had a way to simply reach this person.”

Kun puts down his pen, looking at him dead in the eyes, and sighs. It means that he’s going to explain something very obvious that Johnny hasn’t thought of yet, and it’d be even more infuriating if it wasn’t from Kun. Sometimes he really loves having someone smarter as a friend so he doesn’t have to do all the thinking by himself. He’s not objective enough when it comes to his own feelings. 

“I didn’t ask you before because I thought it was too obvious, but have you tried leaving notes too?”

“Oh.” 

_Oh._ It’s all he can say, because it’s stupid, because it’s so obvious it hurts, because he indeed hasn’t tried yet. And he hates it, hates himself for not thinking about it before he embarrassed himself in front of his whole class and before he thought of begging Ten to give him a clue. But he loves it, because it’s Kun, because it’s easy, because it makes sense and yes, that, he can do. 

“Oh fuck Kun, I love you so so much, I could kiss you right now!”

“Please don’t.”

“I’m still gonna do it.”

Johnny gets up and grabs Kun’s head in both his hands, kissing his forehead three times before retrieving his belongings and leaving the library. Kun sighs yet another time, slouching in his chair a tad bit, looking over at the shelves where he can see Doyoung looking at him. He smiles but Doyoung doesn’t smile back, just frowns and leaves with his book. 

* * *

  
  


“He’s started leaving notes too.”

Doyoung puts his bookbag down on his table with a heavy sigh, letting himself fall in his chair. Coming to school so early everyday is really starting to take its toll on him. He rubs his eyes, trying to ease the pain, before putting his glasses on. Sitting at the desk next to him, Ten is looking at him. 

“Oh really? It’s getting funnier, but I’m surprised it took him so long.”

“Kun told him to do it,” and Doyoung can’t help frowning even more as he remembers what he saw in the library just the day before. 

“Ah, Kun. Nice. So, what does the note say?”

“Tells me to have a good day too, which is odd. I thought he’d tried to find out who I am immediately.”

Ten seems to be thinking for a moment, which Doyoung takes to put his books away and retrieve his maths book from his backpack. 

“Maybe he’s trying to get to know you first?”

“Maybe…” Doyoung concedes, biting on his pen. “That sounds like something he would do, at least.”

“You’re so in love, it’s just gross,” Ten nags just as he is answering a text, probably from Jaehyun.

“Look who’s talking.” 

Doyoung looks up at Kun, who has just sat down in front of him. It’s odd, to see him in class so early. Usually he stays in the drama club room, doing whatever needs to be done, before he joins them here. Doyoung has to force himself to smile, but Kun knows him well and he smiles knowingly. He looks at his notebook for a moment, reading his notes, and Doyoung is almost telling him not to when he stops.

“So it’s you. The notes,” he adds, and Doyoung knows he knows. 

“So what?”

“I just wanted to be sure. It looked like your writing but I didn’t want to tell Johnny something I wasn’t sure about.”

Doyoung gasps. He doesn’t want Johnny to know, not yet, not now, not from someone else. Kun is nice, Kun is a good friend, Kun is smart, but it’s not him, and he shouldn’t be the one saying it. He almost voices all this, but the other boy smiles more, reassuring. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to say anything. I told him to write back, though, so you might have to thank me eventually.”

“I guess…” he mumbles, not very happy about the situation. But at least, Kun hasn’t said anything and won’t do it, he doesn’t think he’s in the position to complain. 

Kun gets up, stretching, before leaving the room. Just a second after, his head pops back in from the doorway, and he’s looking at Doyoung.

“Oh, and by the way. He may be smart but he’s also pretty oblivious, so don’t expect much from him.”

* * *

  
  


It goes on like this for a while, weeks of exchanging notes through Johnny’s locker. He leaves the lunch box in the afternoon, asking the first dumb thing that goes through his mind, and waits for the answer the next morning. It’s soft, it’s slow, and Johnny isn’t used to it at first, but he grows used to it, and even ends up loving it. 

Loving spending his days thinking about what to ask. Loving wondering about the person’s answer. Loving smiling through practice every morning after having read the answer. Loving getting to know someone through something as simple, as old-fashioned as small letters slipped inside his locker. 

He loves it, and yet, he’s always left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. He isn’t known for his patience, and while it is fun and nice to receive that kind of attention, his curiosity is still taking over. He wants to know, wants to be able to talk to this person and thank them and maybe, just maybe, hold their hand. 

Because, when he thinks about it, whoever is trying so hard to make sure he eats properly while maintaining their anonymous status is definitely very dedicated. 

“And very in love,” Ten claims, stuffing his face with yet another piece of chocolate cake. "Damn, I love cake."

“I doubt that,” Johnny protests, looking at him with half admiration and half disgust. 

“I wasn’t asking for your opinion. This guy - or girl I know I can’t gender them, whoever they are - is obviously trying very hard to seduce you.”

Jaehyun is looking at his boyfriend with doubtful eyes and Johnny feels better knowing he’s not the only one not believing whatever new nonsense Ten is spurting. 

“I thought you didn’t want to hear about it anymore?” 

“I…” Ten starts, before looking at him with a stern expression, clearly not amused. “It’s just so annoying to see you both so inactive. Like, please? It’s been months! Why are you not chasing after him or some shit?”

“Babe.”

Ten turns to Jaehyun, probably wanting to nag him for interrupting, but he doesn’t. He keeps his mouth shut, having realised his mistake, and resumes eating the last slice of cake. The silence turns heavy for a second, when Johnny realises too what Ten has just said. He drops his pen, letting it roll on his table and falling on the floor, looking at both his friends with what he is pretty sure is the dumbest face he’s ever made. 

“He? You know him?”

“I told you not to speak about it,” Jaehyun deadpans, earning a dirty look from Ten. 

“I wasn’t, but he’s just so… ugh! Please, Johnny,” Ten starts pleading, turning to him and grabbing both his hands. Johnny can’t help but roll his eyes up. “You _have_ to do something, or I’m gonna go crazy.”

“Alright, alright,” Johnny says with a laugh, not really meaning it. “I’ll save you from your misery, my dear sir.” 

Ten stops being so dramatic after some time, simply resting his head on Jaehyun’s shoulder while he and Johnny keep working on their group assignment. He plays with the loose thread of Jaehyun's sweater, one he got from his grandma. It’s near the end of the day when both Taeil and Doyoung come in the classroom, carrying stacks of notebooks. 

“Oh, hi guys.”

“Hello, class president. Hi, Doyoung,” Johnny smiles at him. “It’s been some time, you don’t come to our class often.”

“I’ve been… busy,” and Johnny thinks that there’s something a bit odd about him today, a bit too distant. He wonders about it for a second, but then assumes that he means it ; he’s probably been busy. It’s not like they’re really close, Johnny doesn’t know much about him. He decides he’ll ask Ten about it after they’ve left. 

Taeil comes closer, and Doyoung follows. They put the notebooks down on Taeil’s desk, sorting through it to put them back to their place, and keep Johnny’s and Jaehyun’s to give it to them directly. They stay for a moment, Taeil doing most of the talking, and Johnny can’t help looking at Doyoung. 

He doesn’t seem very into the conversation, constantly looking outside the window or at his fiddling hands, and he doesn’t even laugh at Taeil’s stupid jokes. Johnny shrugs it off - he must simply be tired, judging by how pale and worn out he looks. He goes back to the conversation going on in front of him, so he doesn’t notice Doyoung looking at him. 

“You don’t drink it?”

Everyone stops talking to look at Doyoung, Johnny included, only to follow his gaze. Johnny notices his lunch box, open and empty, except for the milk carton he has left aside. 

“Oh, this? I never do, I’m lactose intolerant.”

“You’re… you’re what?” 

Johnny almost wants to laugh at Doyoung’s reaction, because really, there’s no need to look this embarrassed. He doesn’t however, simply smiling at him, taking the milk in his hand. 

“It’s a shame, really, because I remember I loved this one as a kid. Do you want it?”

Doyoung doesn’t answer, face contorted in what seems to be a mix between embarrassment, humiliation and anger, and really Johnny doesn’t get it, but no one questions it, so he doesn’t either. He watches Doyoung leave the classroom with angry footsteps, totally missing the way his eyes were watering. Ten is the one who breaks the silence, sighing loudly. 

“Well. Are you done, Jae? I want to go home.”

“Oh yeah. Johnny, you think you can finish your part alone?”

“What? Oh yes, sure, just leave it to me.”

Jaehyun smiles at him, almost apologetic, and Johnny starts to feel as if he missed something. It’s the same feeling he had when his whole family prepared a surprise birthday party for his dad but no one told him because he was too young to keep secrets properly. He hates this feeling, and can’t really shrug it off for the rest of the day. 

When he gets home, he remembers he hasn't asked about Doyoung. What if it's his fault? 

* * *

  
  


“Doyoung?”

Ten knocks at the door even if it’s not closed, not sure his friend is inside. When he does come in, he finds Doyoung curled up in his bed, head under the covers. Ten sighs, putting his backpack down before slowly walking to his bed, sitting down next to him. He doesn’t say anything at first, looking at all the pictures on the wall, before putting his hand on his friend’s head through the covers. 

“Your mom let me in. Are you mad?”

No answer.

“Are you angry at me?”

Still, no answer.

“Doyoung, please, just talk to me.”

“Go fuck yourself, Ten.” 

“Oh wow, swearing? You’re really mad at me.”

Doyoung jerks out of the blanket, pushing Ten’s hand away. He has been crying, cheeks and eyes red from wiping tears repeatedly, and his hair is sticking up. He looks like a mad man, which he probably is, and has all right to be. He also wearing his favourite hoodie, which is a gift from Ten, so he might not be that mad. 

“Listen, I’m sorry alright?”

“Sorry? You better fucking be! You let me put milk in his lunch since the beginning, embarrassing myself like a complete idiot, while knowing he wasn’t drinking it! And I had to learn it from him?” 

Doyoung starts crying again, out of anger and probably because he remembers the flaming humiliating feeling of realising his mistake in front of Johnny himself, and Ten puts his arms around him, pulling his head against him to comfort him. He lulls him, making sure he has stopped crying before talking again.

“I’m sorry, alright? At first I thought it would be fun. I didn’t think it’d made you feel this bad, or I wouldn’t have done it. I’m very sorry, Doyoung.”

“I know. I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

“No, you were right,” Ten says softly, “I’ve gone too far this time.”

They stay like this for a long moment, letting Doyoung take all the time he needs. It’s not really like him to burst out and Ten understands now that he is taking this whole thing very much seriously. 

Doyoung feels ashamed now that he reacted so strongly, leaving school earlier than he would on any other day to run back home and cry his eyes out in his bed. It’s not like him, but also, everything that Johnny makes him feel is always new, always foreign. It’s a rollercoaster, to fall for such a person, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to face him again. It might be a bit too dramatic, but he doesn't want to make efforts anymore if he won't ever have the guts to confess. 

“What are you going to do now?”

“What I should have done long ago,” Doyoung sighs heavily. 

* * *

  
  


Johnny isn’t the type to dwell much on his own emotions. He’s more likely to go with the flow and follow his instinct than to overthink everything and try to find a reason behind his feelings. 

With this whole “ _I leave food and notes in your locker and I answer your questions even the dumb ones_ ” thing, however, he started trying to figure out what exactly it makes him feel. First, he’s flattered. Knowing that there is someone, anyone, ready to go out of their way to make him feel loved and appreciated is an incredible feeling. Second, he’s intrigued. He’s too curious for his own good and he wants to know this person. 

Third, he’s confused. Once he knows who it is, what will he do? Is he supposed to thank them and then go on with his day? Or are they friends, somehow? The more he thinks about it, the less he knows what is actually expected of him from this person. 

Which is why when, the next morning, he opens his locker and finds the empty box and no note, he doesn’t know what to do. 

“Has anyone touched my locker?”

His teammates look at him, then at each other, and then at him again. No one has. 

For all of practice, Johnny is unfocused. Or rather, he is focused on the wrong thing. It shouldn’t bother him, because things happen, right? The guy may be sick, or late, or he forgot, or he was too busy. There are so many reasons, so many possibilities.

So why is he upset? 

* * *

“No spare milk today?”

Taeil sits down next to him for lunch, followed by Kun, but Johnny isn’t in the mood to play along. He stabs his broccoli yet another time, torturing the poor piece of vegetable with his chopstick. He's always hated undercooked food. 

“There was nothing today,” Jaehyun answers for him, then mouthing _he’s upset_ at his friends. Johnny doesn’t notice, angrily munching on the stabbed broccoli. 

“Oh. Well, maybe he forgot?” Taeil tries and chips in. 

“Maybe…” and Johnny is trying to stay hopeful, really, but he can’t help it. He keeps looking at every guy he sees, wondering if it’s him or if he won’t show up at school today, if they know and he’s the only fool still trying to figure things out. He wants to believe the rational part of his brain telling him that it’s only today, it’ll be fine, things get chaotic sometimes and that next morning, everything will be back to normal. 

But the irrational part doesn’t want to shut up, and maybe, just maybe, this guy simply never cared about him. 

The rest of lunch goes on pretty loudly, as usual, and Johnny finds some strength in this. He breathes in deeply before leaving the room, heading back to the classroom with Kun and Jaehyun. After all, everyone is doing fine, nothing is out of ordinary and nothing really bad happened, so he should be fine too. He has no reason to worry too much, and he decides he’ll really try to look for his mystery boy if there is still nothing tomorrow. 

Yet, they step in the classroom, and on his desk he can see a little sticky note. He doesn’t want to believe it, doesn’t want to know just yet, because what if the boy is giving up? But his curiosity takes over, once again, and he crosses the room in a few steps, picking up the note. 

On a bright orange piece of sticky paper, someone has written a simple _sorry_ . Nothing more, nothing less, but Johnny knows who it is. He doesn’t need more to know it’s _him._

“Sorry? For not preparing your breakfast today?” Jaehyun asks, looking over his shoulder. 

“I suppose…”

Taeil steps into the room at this moment, as cheerful as ever, before looking at the note in Johnny’s hands. 

“Oh, is your mystery boy becoming bolder now?” Taeil jokes, earning looks from the three other boys. “I mean, it’s more risky to put that here in the middle of the day than to leave a lunch box in your locker at ass o’clock in the morning when no one’s here, right?”

“Right. Right!” Johnny exclaims suddenly, grabbing Taeil by his shoulders. The note falls on his table. “Someone must have seen him!”

“Probably not,” Kun counters softly. “He’s been very careful since the beginning, you know, so he must have made sure no one was around.” 

“Fuck, you’re right,” Johnny admits with a sigh, sitting at his desk. He takes the note in his hand, folding it as many times as he can. He doesn’t want to think about it anymore. “Changing subject, has anyone seen Doyoung today?”

There is this tense silence for a second, and the odd feeling of not having been told something important comes back to haunt him. He’ll have to talk about it just after, because really, it’s exasperating. For now, he wants to know if Doyoung is fine. 

“I have,” Kun answers slowly, “why?”

“He looked very sad yesterday. Or more like, lost? I don’t know, he seemed out of it, but then he left and I forgot to ask.”

“Yesterday? What happened yesterday?” and Johnny wants to smack Jaehyun for never paying attention to nothing but his boyfriend. 

“You know, when Taeil and him came here with the notebooks? He kept zoning out, and then he asked about the milk, it was super weird.”

There it is again. His three friends are all looking at him with varying degrees of “I’m so done with you” written all over their face, and he wants to laugh or scream. Or both. Which Taeil ends up doing, laughing so hard he sits down on the floor to calm down. Johnny isn’t likely to hit a friend, or anyone at all to be fair, but at this exact instant, he truly wants to slap him in the face. Or kick him in the shin. 

“Someone has to tell him.” 

“You can’t!” Kun exclaims suddenly, arms crossed over his chest. 

“Please, Taeil is going to suffocate.”

“Too bad. I’m not telling him anything, and you aren’t either.”

“Tell me what?” 

Jaehyun and Kun keep looking at each other, apparently silently debating over whether telling _him something_ and he’s seriously starting to be fed up with this behaviour. Eventually, Kun gives in, and with a sigh, he turns to Johnny. 

“What did you tell Doyoung yesterday?”

“Doyoung? Nothing. I swear it's not my fault!” he defends himself, hands in the air.

“Oh you did,” Taeil cuts in, going back to laughing his ass off and choking on his breath. Serves him right. 

“Taeil, seriously…” Johnny mumbles, before focusing back on the actual conversation. “I don’t know, he asked about the milk, and I said I don’t drink it.”

“Yes. And after that?” 

“He seemed embarrassed and angry, and he left. Which was weird, you know. And that’s why I'm asking you about it.”

“Oh, our Johnny is worried about a boy?” Jaehyun nags, smug smile splattered on his face. 

“Well, yeah, it’s not like him to act like this,” Johnny shrugs, not really understanding where Jaehyun’s teasing is coming from. 

“I didn’t know you two were that close,” Kun says, looking at him seriously. 

“We aren’t really. I just… like him,” and it’s true. Doyoung is lovely and nice, always trying hard to please everyone while pretending he totally isn’t. He’s always been nice with Johnny and he’s Kun’s friend after all, of course Johnny likes him. “Can’t you tell Taeil to shut up though? Because I’m this close to kicking him in the face.”

“Right, sorry.” Taeil stops laughing immediately and stands up, dusting off his clothes. Of course he was only doing it on purpose. 

“I’m sorry, Johnny, we all promised to stay quiet, but you really have all the info you need. Just think for a moment,” and Johnny can almost feel Kun’s pain of not being able to say anything. 

He may be a loyal friend, but he also can’t hold back when something obvious needs to be said, and Johnny starts to understand. First, they _all_ promised, which means they all know him. Which means he must know him too. Second, he didn’t put in anything today, and then apologised for it, so he had to do it over lunch. It can’t be Taeil, Kun or Jaehyun, and Ten is out of the picture too. Third, it has to be someone who would come here extra early and have a way of opening his locker without anyone noticing. 

And suddenly, he knows. 

And he understands. 

The milk. The embarrassment. The apology. The promise. 

“Oh fuck, I’m so stupid!”

“We know, yeah,” Taeil teases smuggly. 

“I have to go!”

He runs out of the class, leaving his friends laughing at him, but he doesn’t mind. He runs faster than he should, not even stopping when he sees teachers in the hallways. He has to find him. 

* * *

  
  


He finds Doyoung in the auditorium. 

The school band is rehearsing, and since Doyoung is Joohyun’s friend, Johnny knows he comes here regularly for moral support. He sitting at the top of the seats, eating a sandwich while filming with his other hand, probably to monitor it just after. Johnny runs up the stairs, four by four, reaching Doyoung quickly but breathless. When he straightens up again, the boy is looking at him with a puzzled expression. He’s wearing his glasses. 

“Johnny?”

“Hi Doyoung.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I needed to talk to you,” he whispers, sitting down next to him. He closes his eyes, trying to catch his breath.

“Did you… run?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I did.”

Doyoung stops the recording and puts his phone in his jacket, turning just slightly in his direction. On the stage, the band members are still rehearsing, and Johnny can see Joohyun looking in their direction. She probably knows too. Doyoung hands him his water bottle and he gladly takes it. 

“You don’t have to apologise, you know.”

“I didn’t say anything.” 

For a second, Johnny is afraid he is making a fool of himself and is actually talking to the wrong person. What a typically Johnny thing to do. However, he is sure of himself, so he straightens up in his seat and smiles at Doyoung. 

“You couldn’t know about the milk.” 

Doyoung obviously tenses up, hands clutching the fabric of his pants from where they’re resting on his knees. Maybe it wasn’t the best way to say it, but Johnny wants him to know that it’s ok, he doesn’t have to feel sorry, and he doesn’t have to hide behind sticky notes and lunch boxes. So he grabs on his hands and smiles at him some more. 

“Really, most people don’t know.” 

“You should have told me… on the notes.”

“Haha, yes, I should have,” and Johnny can’t help smiling bigger, broader. 

“Also you’re an idiot for not figuring it out sooner.”

“Judging from how much Taeil laughed at much, I quite got that.”

Doyoung doesn’t add anything more, but he moves his hand in his to entangle their fingers. He looks unsure, his uneasiness showing on his face, but Johnny understands. He probably had planned for things to go differently. He plays with his fingers to try and reassure him, watching the band playing on the stage. 

“I wasn’t sure you’d be into me,” Doyoung says softly after some time, voice barely heard over the sound of the instruments. 

“Why?”

The boy turns to him, looking at his face with a deadpan expression. Johnny knows this side of Doyoung way more than the anxious one. 

“Dude, you’ve only ever dated girls.”

“Oh, yeah. That.”

“Yes, that.”

“I’m bi, actually. And you’re very cute,” Johnny adds, trying to be flirty. 

“I know, yeah. Since you’re holding my hand and all.”

“True. I am. Will I be allowed to hold it more?”

Doyoung shrugs, but he can see him smiling. 

“I wouldn’t mind if you did.” 

Johnny scoots closer, grabbing his other hand. His fingers are long and his skin is dry, worn out by how little he takes care of his hands, but his nails are perfectly cut. Johnny decides he loves it. 

“Can I also kiss you, then?”

"You can. But not now, I have to finish my lunch before heading back to class."

"It's fine, I'll wait." 

And he does. He stays here, watching the band rehearse while Doyoung finishes eating his sandwich and then his apple. They don't talk more, not until it's time to leave. Johnny notices that Doyoung is wearing the jacket Ten had bought him, the one that makes his skin look brighter and makes him smile when he puts it on. He walks him to class, hand in hand, and it's almost too natural. 

Maybe taking things slow was worth it.

* * *

  
  


"You kept them all?"

Doyoung is looking through Johnny's backpack to retrieve his maths textbook and has apparently found his little metal box where he's put all the little notes. He smiles at it, he had almost forgotten it was here. 

"Of course. They cheer me up when I feel down."

Doyoung doesn't say anything, but his cheeks turn red a bit. He's embarrassed, yet he keeps looking at each and every one of the notes. The short ones, the longer ones, the stupid Johnny questions, the funny Doyoung answers. It's all here, how they got to know each other in a way they wouldn't have if Doyoung had simply confessed like Ten had told him to do so many times before. It feels almost like a distant memory. 

"Thank you."

"Hm? For what?"

"For keeping them. For writing notes. For letting me take the time I needed." 

His boyfriend looks up at him, eyes a little misty. He's wearing his glasses and the old Ten jacket and the new Johnny necklace. He looks exactly like he's always been, pretty and casual and a little lazy, so Johnny assumes he's the one who sees him differently now. Properly. 

"No, thank you. For giving me the chance to discover a part of you I had missed." 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! 
> 
> [tumblr](https://umiwomitai.tumblr.com) [twt](https://twitter.com/_tildawn) [cc](https://curiouscat.me/umiwomitai)


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